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vøL6'l1944 a BLA•N, Geese X EmdenGeese 389

It is obviousthat stronglyconstructed nests would withstandwinter winds better than poorly constructedones. In two years,out of twenty-fivehundred Mourning Doves' nests,only fifty-fivewithstood the winter. Since the dove builds a flimsy nest, only nestsin the more protectedplaces would last. As no count of total numbersof robin nestswas made,we do not know what percentageof the total built the old onesrepresented. Other nestswould grade in between these two extremes. SUMMARY Old nestsof and fox squirrelsthat have withstoodwinter winds were counted in Lewis, Iowa, in March of 1939 and 1940. A total of 469 nestsof nine speciesof birds and one speciesof squirrel were found in twenty-threespecies of trees. Nestssurviving the win- ter in the greatest numbers were those of the Eastern Robin, Balti- more Oriole, , and . Trees supporting the greatestnumbers of old nestswere elm, box elder,and red pine. Nebraska Forestation and Parks Commission Upland Game Survey Ord, Nebraska

CROSS-MATING OF CANADA GEESE WITH EMDEN GEESE

BY ALEXANDER W. BLAIN, M.S., M.D., F.A.(•.S. Plate 16 T•E crossingof certain wild ducksand pheasantshas been care- fully studied. The conditionis undoubtedlymuch rarer in the wild statethan in birdskept in a semi-domesticatedstate upon which most of the studieshave been based. J.C. Phillips discussesthis in an in- terestingarticle entitled 'A Further Report on SpeciesCrosses in Birds' (Genetics,6: 366-383, 1921). Anyonewho has bred various typesof pheasantsin captivity has had much the sameexperience. The crossingof the with the white call-duckhas proved a troublesomeproblem in my flock,and while the offspringall reverted to the wild stateand nestedon my propertyoutside of the pen, there was never any trouble in distinguishingthe interestinghybrid as it flew from the nest or was seen in the water. The polygamyon the part of somebirds is very well known. This is especiallytrue in this part of the countryamong Red-winged Black- birds. On the other hand, the belief has been quite constanton the part of ornithologistsand huntersthat the Canada ( 390 ]•LAIN,Canada Geese X EradenGeese L['Auk July

canadensiscanadensis) mates for life. To quoteFrancis Kortright in 'The Ducks,Geese and Swansof ' (1942, American Wildlife Institute,publishers): "Contrary to the habitsof ducksand geesewhich seeknew spouseseach year, the Canada Goosemates for life; should either partner die or be killed, the survivor,it is said, never pairs again. (No verificationof this statementhas been found by the author in his researchesnor, to his knowledge,has it been disproved.)" It is not unusual,however, to have a large flock of CanadaGeese of mixed genderspenned together in an enclosure,and have no mating whatever take place. The following incident is, I believe,quite unusual. A pair of Canada Geesewhich I had had for some time finally mated. For somereason the nestwas destroyed. The followingyear they rebuilt their nest. were deposited,but no goslingspro- duced. In the fall of 1941 I placed a pair of tame domesticated Emden geeseof the pure white barnyardvariety in the sameenclosure with the . I was surprisedto find, early in the spring of 1942, that each of the Emdens and Canadas had cross-mated, with each newly mated pair producingand nicely bringing to maturity four goslings. In each family some of the birds resembledthe Canadas and others showed the white feathers of the Emden. One bird waspure white. None of the offspringwere killed and all are still under observa- tion, but all were removedfrom the enclosure. This year, 1943,with the Emdensand younghybrids all removed,the Canadashave again built a nest,and when last observed(April 14), the femalewas sitting very closelyand the male was in characteristic'on guard' position. The sexof the hybridsis not known,but they are being kept under observationmany milesfrom wherethey were hatched,and it will be interestingto seewhether they choose to mate. While I waswatching themrecently, a few birdsfrom a wild flockcame into their enclosure. Theseobservations are perhapsnot conclusive,yet theywould tend to show that the Canada Gooseis not averseto changingits mate under certain conditionsand to a bird of anothergenus. The state- ment should,perhaps, not be furthered that the Canada Goosemates for life, especiallynot under the environmentof semi-domestication. During the fall migration of 1943, two of the hybridswhich I re- tained in my enclosure(including the white bird noted above)dis~ appeared. Early this spring (March, 1944) they returned. It is possiblethey migrated to someother sanctuarynot too far awayfrom their birthplace. In April, three of the other hybrids,which had THE AUK, VOL. 61 PLATE 16

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CROSS-I•IATED CANADA GEESE AND EI•IDEN GEESE. Vol.6•] WooD,Records ol a DuchHunter 391 been removedin the fall of 1942 severalmiles from my enclosure, returnedand joined the others. The hybridsof the 'Canadian-type' cannot be distinguishedfrom the full-bloodedparents. Detroit Michigan

THE RECORDS OF A PROFESSIONAL DUCK HUNTER

BY HAROLD B. WOOD DEFINITErecords of the number of birds killed in large numbers by sportsmenor professionalgunners are rare becauseusually none are kept. Lamentableas masskillings and continuedshooting are, definiterecords of birds killed over a period of yearsshow interest- ing figures. They suggestthe relative prevalenceof variousspecies during past years,indicate migrational seasons, suggest variations in bird populations,show presentrarities, and add unknown to a local list. Some colloquial namesare learned. About 17,000waterfowl fell in fifty-threeyears before the gun of the professionalgunner of the olden days whoserecords are the basisof this account. He kept daily accountsof his bags,and his diary I was permittedto copy. It is reminiscentof the daysof fifty yearsago when every meat markethad its racksfestooned with many speciesof waterfowl The maker of theserecords, Hardie Disney, was born in 1875 and lives on the banks of the SusquehannaRiver oppositeHarrisburg. He began to shoot when eleven years old, in 1884, and baggedfourteen birds the first day. Later, he pro- fessionallyshot gameto supplythe five hotelsof Harrisburg,and receiveda dollar a duck, with three to five dollarsapiece for Canvas- backs. The hotels offered a roast-duck dinner, with all the trim- mings,for $1.50. It was a gunner'sliving in thosedays. In the fall of 1906, for instance,Disney's accounts show that he received $161.75for 445 ducks. He shot for a living, althoughwith sad con- sequenceswhich he could not foretell. The ducks seemed to be in inexhaustible quantities and there were no restrictionson gunning. "There were thousandsof ducks in thosedays, and every year there was more," as he expressesit. "When a boy, I got up at 4 A.M. and went out and killed ducks beforeI went to school. I duckedin March and April." All shoot- ing wasdone from a boat ashe and his 'buddy'paddled in the shallow, mile-wide Susquehanna.He sometimesused wooden decoys,never live ones, and never baited the water. He shot among the small, grassyislands called 'patches,'where the duckscollected. The de-